Essay about The Religious Undertones in James Joyces Araby

James Joyce uses religious references throughout Araby to express his resentment towards the Catholic Church, and Catholicism as a whole. The story revolves around religious symbolism and a boys intnse desire for a girl. Joyces reasons for rejecting the Catholic Church are unknown, but in many scenes his attitude towards religious hypocrisy becomes clearer. The introduction to Araby sets the religious tones, which flow through a neighborhood, dark and full of desire. The story opens on a quiet street, except at the hour when the Christian Brothers School set the boys free. The example given is a reflection of long days oppressed by the church, which only come to and end when the boys are set free. In†¦show more content†¦The girl is seen as something holy here by being placed in the light. Joyces character shows his infatuation with the girl when he watches her door from the window every morning. Joyce shows the religious confusion between the girl and the Church when, he writes, having seen nothing but the brown clad figure cast by my imagination, touched discretely by the lamp light.... The figure described here is a man of the cloth, a friar, who is touched by the light. Again this is Joyces religious undertone. Joyces character labors to attend Araby. We read of his difficulties with his Uncle and Aunt, one forgetting completely of the boys request to attend Araby and the other concerned of its being some Freemason affair. The Freemasons are an organized society that does not associate itself with the Catholic Church. Joyce casts the Freemasons in a dim light by having the Aunt question the purpose of the event. The ride to Araby on the special train symbolizes Joyces feelings of misery and despair and reflects his view of himself in his native country. Araby is described as a big hall with the greater part of the hall in darkness. The silence the narrator recognizes is like that which pervades a church after service. Joyce symbolizes the uselessness of the Church with the word darkness. In the finalShow MoreRelatedAraby Notes1092 Words   |  5 PagesIn James Joyces short story Araby, the male narrators coming-of-age is transposed against a tale of an innocent womans supposed falling from grace, in the eyes of the young man. The young man promises to go to a fair called Araby. The name Araby was often thought to comprise the fictional or romanticized version of Arabia or Arab world, such as in the then-popular song The Sheik of Araby. (Araby, 2005) The young man promises to bring the young woman something from the far-off and exotic